At the last Mayoral forum hosted by the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Nashville, The NAACP, IMF, Urban League Middle Tennessee, at Meharry Medical College’s Cal Turner Center, Republican Mayoral candidate Carol Swain claimed to be the most qualified to deal with African-American youth.
Mayoral candidates were asked, “What programs would you specifically initiate to benefit African-American youth?” Instead of answering the question posed, Carol Swain attempted to make a rebuttal to what she deemed to be “partisan comment” from a previous response. Upon being forced to answer the question and provide specifics, she stated she was the best candidate to deal with the “problems” because she grew up black and broke and her initiative would be to work with the Trump administration.
Her response was met by cynicism and laughter from the audience.
It is unusual for a local Mayoral candidate to allude to the President of the United States as being the answer to local issues pertaining to the city’s youth.
Here is Carol Swain’s full response to the question:
Question: What programs would you specifically initiate to benefit African-American youth?
Swain: I’d like to start by responding to the partisan comments …
Moderator: Please remember the mutual respect and format here that keeps the playing field level and if you would lie to pass on the question, we’ll go to the next responder. Please repeat the question and please respond.
Question: What programs would you specifically initiate to benefit African-American youth?
Swain: I think the problems are… the programs I’d like to work with schools and organizations would benefit all youth that are poor and I think that some of the problems affecting African American youth a lot is about social class, and so, that is what I would try to do to work for everyone who was disadvantaged and it would not be necessarily singling out African-American youth even though there is a crime problem and the levels of high school dropouts and incarceration is unacceptable but um, I come from that kind of environment. I’m the only one of 12 that got out of poverty and I’m the best person up here to be able to address all of those problems and as Mayor, I will govern in a nonpartisan type of fashion. My focus will be protecting Nashville. I am the best person to work with Governor Lee and the Trump administration, for Nashville, for Nashville, for Nashville.
